Maya, Jonathan, Katie and Gael. Bonnie Rose weaver is an herbalist that was a Gateway High alum. She came to the garden to teach them how herbs work and what are the benefits are. Something that happened was that they were given information for each type of team such as benefits etc. Something that they learned was that they know what type of herbs can treat different things. Nettle: very nutritive meaning it is full of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals which gives you energy. Nettle is also an antihistamine which means it helps with allergies. Nettle can also improve your focus. Chamomile: Chamomile helps with sleep and it is an anti-fungal. Chamomile has a bitter principle which means that it is good for digestion, helps with stomach acid and heartburn. Raspberry Leaf: Raspberry Leaf is a nutritive herb meaning it is full of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. It is beneficial for people that have a uterus by helping with cramps. The raspberry leaf also contains magnesium which makes it good for pregnancy.Lemon Verbena: Lemon Verbena is good for digestion. Lavender: Lavenders beneficial for anti-bacterial. The smells can be used for aromatherapy and essential oils. Jonathan: he took a blend of lemon, lavender, and nettle home.Katie: she made a blend of nettle, raspberry, and mint because she thinks that the mint would taste good and the nettle and raspberry just had a lot of good benefits. Maya: made a blend of lemon verbena, nettle, and mint. she chose this blend because she wanted the benefits of the nettle to have energy and to staying focused for school and other activities. she chose the Lemon verbena and mint mainly for the aroma and taste of the tea. Jonathan: what was fun was we got to taste different types of tea. Katie: Something that was interesting was tasting all the different teas. A lot of them tasted very interesting (in a good way :D). Maya: Something that I found interesting was learning all the benefits that these herbs have. I never knew that a plant could be so beneficial to your health. It was also really fun to taste every tea and notice the differences between them. My favorite tea that I tried was the lemon verbena because I liked the citrus taste!
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The class cooked food, namely hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, artichokes, and salad. The burgers, and some of the sausages, were plant based, and very good. The salad was made entirely from plants the class grew in the garden, including the dressing. The class made the french fries from fresh potatoes, store bought, but still very homemade in every other aspect. Shada and Manuel peeled the potatoes and Liam cut them then Shada and Manuel fried them and added salt using a frying pan, some oil, and tongs. The class then ate their food. After the class was all done they washed the dishes. The class did these things because they wanted to celebrate the year of gardening. The class also wanted to eat food. Each group did something different. Shada, Manuel, and Liam peeled, cut, and fried the potatoes to make french fries. Kylie picked some artichoke and boiled it in some water. Jasper grilled the burger patties and sausages, and worked with Liam on the salad dressing. The Golden Trowel is an award that is given to a student who excelled and went above and beyond. Each student took some vegetables home for a certain reason as seen below: 1. Shada - I brought home some carrots, lettuce, and green onions. I will use these to make a salad. 2. Manuel - Lettuce, carrots, ka, and green onions. I will make a salad with these vegetables. 3. Liam - Green onion, lettuce, carrots, and kale. I am not sure what I am going to do with these vegetables. I assume I am going to cook them in some way. 4. Kylie - I brought home lettuce, carrots , and kale. My family and I will use these to make a wrap with egg rolls. 5. Jasper - I took some kale, carrots, lettuce, and green onions. Most of them will probably go into a salad, and my mom cooks with green onions a lot so she’ll find some use for them. Bonnie Rose Weaver is an herbalist (and a Gateway alum of class 2006) who came to gateway to give an herbal tea-making workshop. The class learned that she started the gateway call and response: call - “which way” response - “gateway.” The class also learned that she used to play soccer in high school. She also had asthma from the age of 6, but when she learned about an herb that helps open your lungs, she hasn't used an inhaler since. Bonnie Rose Weaver explained the benefits of each plant and their scientific names. Then the class drank some of the tea to see what the flavor was like. After that, the class wrote down all the benefits of each plant. Finally, the class mixed their own teas with several different plants. This was so their tea could provide a variety of different benefits. The class learned that tea is helpful for reducing asthma. Using tea can be helpful to relax, lower cramps, digestion and many more. Chamomile was the most beneficial herb because it is anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antifungal. Herbs are a natural medicine - with capsules, our bodies have to break it down first, then find out where it’s supposed to go. The class composed a list of the benefits each herb provides as seen below: 1. Nettle: Rich in nutrients - multivitamins, coffee alternative, antihistamine - great for allergies. 2. Chamomile: Good for digestion, helps with sleep, calming, cramps, pink eye, antibacterial, anti inflammatory, antifungal, helps with stomach aches, and safe for babies. 3. Raspberry Leaf: Rich in nutrients - multivitamins, contains magnesium - helps with cramps (menstrual cramps as well), and it is good for pregnant people. 4. Lemon Verbena: It has a good flavor. 5. Mint: Cooling, fresh, and antispasmodic. 6. Lavender: Helps with sleep, relaxing, antibacterial, antimicrobial Each student took a tea blend home for their own reasons as seen below: 1. Liam: I made a tea blend that had Chamomile as the main ingredient to calm an upset stomach. I also added Nettles for the nutrients, and Raspberry for the flavor. 2. Jasper: I made a blend of nettle, lemon verbena, mint, and a bit of raspberry leaf. It’s intended to help as an anti-inflammatory, to calm nerves, and taste good. 3. Leslie: I chose chamomile, raspberry, and lavender. I chose chamomile and raspberry for health (digestion and cramps) and lavender for smell. 4. Shada: I blended raspberry leaf, mint, chamomile, and nettle. I chose raspberry leaf because it helps with menstrual cramps. I added chamomile because it has a lot of benefits. For example, it helps with sleep digestion, and it is antibacterial, anti inflammatory, and antifungal. I added nettle because it is rich in nutrients. Finally, I chose mint because I usually put mint in my tea and it makes it taste better. Saturday group (Kayla, Maya, Sherlyn) The first task they did was sign making they used paint markers to write on the signs and decorate them so that it can catch the attention of someone when they walk in or by the garden. By doing this it makes it easier to identify what type of plants they are. Something that was fun was creating different designs for each sign and it also bringing art into the garden. Something that was challenging was knowing that you had to be precise with the paint markers and remembering that they were paint markers so you couldn't really put your hand on the sign or it would get messed up. The second task was to cut up some wood to make the signs they also used a drill to put the signs together. By doing this it helps the signs in the soil so we can know what type of plant it it and the name of the plant. Something that was fun was using the power tools because it was hard in the beginning but they got the hang of it. Something that was was challenging to saw the wood because they needed to keep balance while applying force. Sherlyn and Maya task was turning the compost with pitchforks. They had to put the bottom part of the compost on top so that the bacteria could get oxygen. By doing this it helps the bacteria get oxygen and could spread and then use the compost again. Something that was fun was watering the compost afterwards because it helped the compost get moist and something about watering things is just fun. Something that was challenging was picking up the compost with the pitchfork to fold it. The second task was picking slugs off of the lettuce. A tactic they used was a jar full of soapy water so that the slugs could die in the soapy water. By doing this it helps keep the crops safe and prevent an overpopulation with slugs. By doing this it helps protect the lettuce and prevents an overpopulation with the slugs and that could potentially ruin the crops. Something that was interesting was searching for the slugs. Something that was challenging was picking up the slugs because they kept slipping from their hands. Jonathan had to use paint markers to make designs on signs. By doing this it helps identify what plant are which. Something that was fun was making cool designs on signs. Nothing was really challenging. The second task was to fertilize the plants with water. By doing this it helps the plants grow. Something that was fun was watering the plants. Something that was challenging was carrying the watering can. Team tomato (Katie,Jonathan, Maya, and Mr. Berthiaume) took Sungold Tomatoes, Sweeties cherry tomatoes, broccoli and brussels sprouts seedlings and transplanted them into their own individual four inch pots. The tool they used were scissors to cut out roots in case it grew onto other plants. They used wooden labels to identify the different types of plants. By doing this they are able to sell the plants at their plant sale and so they can have more room to expand. They also did this so that others are able to experience the excitement of growing their own plants. Something that was good was that Katie put unusable dead flowers in her hair and made them all laugh. Something that was interesting was that they found it satisfying to pull out plants from their six pack. Something that was challenging was getting small splinters from the soil stuck in their hands. Something else that was challenging was getting the roots separated. The second task was cutting leaves from a raspberry and lavender to make tea with the tools that they used were scissors and pruning shears. By doing this they can create their own tea using lavender and raspberry leaves. Something that was fun about this task was separating the stems from the leaves so they can use it to make tea. Something that was annoying was being poked by the spikes on the stem of the raspberry plant. Liam and Kylie planted carrots. They put an irrigation line in a circle in large bins filled with dirt. Then we planted carrots along the inside and outside of the irrigation line. They did this so we can grow carrots to eat. By putting the irrigation lines in the pots, they don’t have to water the plants by hand. Also, by putting the carrots facing south, they will have more sunlight every day. What was interesting for them was that they planted carrots on either side of the irrigation so they could get the most carrots possible. What was challenging about this was making sure they planted the carrot seeds at a correct depth, and also making sure they didn’t put too few or too many seeds in the trenches. The second task they did was to cut off the leaves of a raspberry plant to make tea. They used some garden clippers or scissors to cut off the relatively new leaves off the plants. They did this so we could dry the leaves and make herbal tea. They had to use certain plants to make tea, and other plants wouldn’t have worked. They took newish growth because the older growth is harder and is more worn down. What was good for them was knowing that they were making a useful product. What was annoying for them was that bending over to cut the leaves since it made their backs hurt like an old person. Luke and Manuel turned the compost pile by mixing the compost piles with pitchforks. This job simply consists of using your upper body strength to really move and mix the compost around. They did this to help oxygenate, drain, and moisturize the compost pile to allow for microorganisms to sustain the compost pile. It was fun for them to use the pitchforks, a tool that they had never used before. It was also fun for them to see the little creatures like slugs, worms, and flies. It was annoying for them to place the compost lid on and off because the chain of the compost was difficult to place and remove. They picked and processed tea leaves in preparation for tea making next class. They did this by using clippers and scissors to extract the leaves and separate them from their stems. They harvested and processed the tea leaves to generate the leaves necessary for steeping for the next lesson. It was fun for them to use new gardening equipment and to work with material that they will soon enjoy. It was a challenge for them to avoid the dangerous stems of the stinging nettle plant during harvesting. Kylie and Manuel used scissors and garden clippers to cut the lavender. They used the clippers to cut the lavender from the tree and then cut the lavender off the stem to put in the bag so that the herbs can dry. They did this so they could dry the herbs to make tea next Wednesday. They cut the lavender that was more purple because the older ones were grey and didn’t have color on them anymore. It was interesting for them to see the bees when they were cutting the lavender. It was also fun to for them zone out for a couple of minutes and simply focus on picking the best lavender flowers to cut. What was annoying about this task for them was the bees flying around, getting on their legs. The bees didn’t bother us though Jasper and Shada planted cherry tomatoes in an empty garden plot, 3 rows of 3, and mulched them. They used bone meal, trowels, a wheelbarrow, a square shovel, and their hands. The tomato plants were getting pretty big, as they had been growing in the greenhouse in small pots, and needed to be either potted up or planted. Also, plants in the garden always benefit other organisms living there. They put bone meal in under the tomato plants when they put them in the soil, which is high in phosphorus, which helps promote root growth so the plant will settle in faster. They kept forgetting to add bone meal, so only ¾ of the plants actually got some, but other than that it wasn’t too difficult or frustrating. They cut stalks (or just leaves, depending on the plant) of different herbs around the garden, and then trimmed the good leaves off and stored them for next week. By “good leaves” they mean leaves that were generally uneaten by pests, and were nice, green, and fragrant. They cut nettles, raspberry leaves, lemon verbena, and lavender. They mainly did this because next week an herbalist is gonna visit the garden and teach us about herbs, so they trimmed and prepared them ahead of time. Shada and Jasper prepared a salad for the group that included tomatoes, buttercrunch lettuce, red leaf lettuce, and red roman lettuce. They washed the ingredients then cut the lettuce and carrots in small bite sized pieces using a knife and cutting board. After washing and cutting the lettuce they put it in a salad spinner to get all of the water off, then put them in a bowl. They saved some to taste test later. They also made a dressing using extra virgin olive oil, white vinegar, chives, garlic, lemon juice, and a bit of pepper. They did it first and foremost to eat it, and try food grown directly from the garden. It was also because the lettuce was ready to harvest. If they kept them growing for too long they would get “old” and lose their flavor, they would get bitter, they had taste tests, comparing the flavors of the different kinds of lettuce, and also made dressing. The dressing was primarily a mixture of olive oil and vinegar, which have different consistencies, meaning they separate. They whisked them together to break those bonds that hold them apart, allowing them to mix. Since they wanted the dressing to stick to the lettuce they had to get all of the water off because water and oil don’t mix. They did this by using a salad spinner. It was fun and really interesting to prepare a meal entirely from the garden, including cutting the lettuce and pulling the carrots from the ground. It showed them the whole process that goes into making food, which they don’t usually get to see because they buy food from stores. Also, learning is always fun for them and they learned how to make their own salad dressing with very simple ingredients. Washing the lettuce was kind of annoying for them because of all the bugs and insects. There was a spider and an earwig which was gross, but Mr.Berthiaume got them out for them. They also had to pull off and compost any leaves which had been eaten by pests or were undesirable in some other regard, which could be tedious, and it was hard to judge which ones were ok to eat and which ones weren’t. Kylie, Manuel, and Yu Xin planted potatoes in buckets. First they created a nutrient rich soil by combining compost, peat moss, and a planting mix. The compost is rich in nutrients, the peat moss retains water very well, and the planting mix also contains fertilizer. They put one large bucket of each type into a wheelbarrow and mixed it all together using a shovel. They then drilled six holes into the bottoms of three buckets so that water would be able to drain from them. Then, they used a shovel to fill each bucket with the soil mix about a quarter of the way up. They used a knife to cut the potatoes in half (being mindful of the eyes where the plant will sprout), and placed 3 halves in each bucket. They filled the bucket up more and put bone meal at the very top. We then used a hose to water each bucket of to-be potato plants. Potatoes like to have a very nutrient rich soil, so by mixing compost, peat moss, and planting mix, they gave the potatoes a good place to grow. The potatoes are planted fairly far down in the bucket to allow for the new potatoes to have space to grow where they won’t be exposed to any sunlight. If they are exposed to sunlight, they will turn green and toxic. It was fun for them to shovel the soil from the wheelbarrow into their buckets where we planted potatoes. It was also interesting to learn that potatoes have to be cut in half and that the placement of the potato matters once you plant it. Something hard about making the potatoes pot for them was mixing the 3 types of soil in the wheelbarrow. They also flipped their compost piles. For a few weeks now they've been in charge of flipping the piles every week at the garden. The only tool that they used were some garden forks to mix around the compost. They mix the compost to make it easier for the decomposers to get to the compost and so that everything decomposes faster. It was fun for them to always get a little workout when doing this activity. It was also interesting for them to see all of the little creatures in the compost. It was annoying for them to get a little dirty, but overall it was a great experience for them. Leslie and Luke raked debris off of plant beds using metal rakes and disposed of the debris in the compost. They cleared the debris to allow for an unobstructed area for planting and plant growth. Clearing the debris for them was good because the tomato beds looked messy. Something fun for them was being able to use new garden tools. Clearing all the debris was annoying for them because small bits would be left behind. They also made salad using carrots, a variety of lettuces, tomatoes, dressing, chopped basil, cilantro, and mint with a knife. Chopping the herbs helped with adding ingredients to the salad dressing. It was nice for them to enjoy the salad after creating it with the class. They found it interesting learning how to make dressing. It was difficult for them to thoroughly wash the carrots and it was annoying to use a hose to clean them. The Carrots (Katie, Yu Xin) were given the task of filling the wheelbarrow with mulch. They first spread mulch over the celery and lettuce. After they finished spreading mulch they continued on the circle of cosmos lettuce and green onions. By doing this it helps keep the plants retain water and the regulated soil temperature to suppress the weeds. Something that they found fun was covering the soil with mulch and it was fun moving the wheelbarrow. Something that they found challenging was the wind because as they kept moving the mulch from place to place it kept getting into their eyes. The second task that they were tasked with was making flower arrangements. They did this so that Mr. Berthiaume could sell these plants or they could take them home and observe them. Some of the tools that they used were trowels and pots. They planted Calendula, Swiss chard, Marigold, and many other seedlings. Something that was interesting was that they were able to put the seedlings in the same pot and they had to be careful about the spacing of the plants. Something that was challenging was choosing what to put in their arrangement because there were so many plants to choose from and making sure they’re giving each plant enough room to grow. Sign making (Jonathan and Maya) had to paint signs. They first started by laying down a tarp on the table to catch paint that could spill. Then they got wood blocks, set them on the tarp, and painted them a bright red color. Once they finished painting the wooden blocks they needed to try and clean up the brushes of paint residue, but they had a bit of trouble cleaning up the brushes. They tried to use chemicals but it didn't work, as the paint was still stuck to the brushes. They then tried to use the hose to remove the paint by spraying the water at the bristles of the brushes, but it did not solve the problem. After a while they ended up keeping the brushes in soapy water for a long time. By making signs for the garden, it can help educate others on identifying plants and allows them to gain more knowledge on what different plants may look like. Something that they thought was fun about this task was painting the wood blocks, it allowed them to incorporate art into the garden. Something that they said was really annoying about this task was getting the paint off of the brushes with their hands as the paint was very stubborn to remove and was really sticky . The second task was planting seedlings. They planted Calendula and bee balm plants and the tools they used were a trowel, a watering can, and bone meal. By doing this it gives the garden more color because both seedlings that were planted were flowers. Something that was fun about this task was digging holes because it was interesting to see small insects in the dirt. A challenging part was dealing with the wind and digging a hole that was deep enough for the plants. Compost turning and chopping ( Gael ) starting a new compost pile. He first started by uncovering the compost bins to look at how the pile was doing. Then he used a fork to flip the compost pile in order to give the microorganism fresh oxygen to continue breaking down the compost. The most difficult part about flipping the compost is having to take the compost out and then throwing it back in in order to get the dry outer part towards the center to get the pile evenly broken down. The easiest part was chopping up fresh new plants with a square shovel in order to start a new compost pile. Shada, Liam, Yu Xin, and Luke spread mulch around seedlings. They got the mulch from a pile using a shovel and wheelbarrow. Since there were four of them they finished very fast. They only used gloves to spread the mulch. They used their hands to carry the mulch to the seedlings and to spread it. That way, they'd be more careful around the seedlings. The mulch was spread around to make it harder for weeds to grow, for water retention, and cooler temperatures. They all liked that they could talk to each other while they worked. It was hard for them to spread mulch to the last grow of onions because they had to lean over other plants to get there. They (along with Jasper, Manuel, Kylie, and Leslie) also used pots to arrange flowers and herbs of our choice in a nice looking way. They used a trowel to take the soil from the bag and put it into our pots. Some of them used their hands to then dig space for the seedlings while others continued to use a trowel. They then watered the plants once they had arranged them. They did it because it looked good and because it was time to transfer the seedlings to a bigger space. Putting them into the pots gave their roots more space to grow and gave them access to more nutrients. One thing that was fun was that they got to make flower arrangements to decorate the garden. One thing that was difficult for them was making the design look nice because many of them didn’t have much experience with arranging flowers in a visually appealing way. Jasper and Manuel filtered the finished compost with a large sifter. They shoveled scoops of the compost onto the sifter, and shook it back and forth, allowing the finished compost to fall through, and the unfinished, larger pieces to be separated and added to other compost piles. They did it to separate the bigger, not quite decomposed bits of compost from the finer, totally decomposed pieces. This benefits the garden because the parts that aren’t finished decomposing get a chance to finish decomposing. They said it was pretty simple, and shaking it around was fun. They also said it was also a whole upper body workout moving the undecomposed compost from it’s spot to another place. Pieces that we filtered out often got stuck in the filter, requiring them to rip them out over and over, which was tedious. Kylie and Leslie extended the irrigation using the connectors so the potatoes can get more water. They also used their hands to spread the compost mixture around the potatoes. They did this because the connectors helped the water flow through the tubes. Something that was challenging for them was making sure all the potatoes were getting water from the irrigation system. Jonathan and Sherlyn’s group had the task to make signs. The first thing they had to do was saw the wood into certain parts. While Jonathan was doing that, Sherlyn was sanding the wood with sanding paper so that the corners could become smooth and no one could get hurt. After Sherlyn had smoothen out some of the signs she began putting the first coat of red paint on the wood. They did this so that the wood could have a pop of color for them to be used as signs throughout the garden. Something that was fun was painting the wood because it was calming and peaceful. Something that was challenging was cutting the wood with the saw, it was a challenge because in the beginning when making the first cut, it was difficult to get it where you first wanted it to be and cutting it was less difficult but still challenging. By doing this it helps keep the plants organized and know where everything is. For next week we are going to put a second coat of paint on the signs so that the color doesn't look dull and it wont come off easily. We are also planning on writing the signs in different fonts so it could look interesting. After that we will probably put some nails in it so that it can stay where we want it to stay and it doesn't fall because of the wind. |
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